Reef Discussion

[IJG3145]

I'm at the stage of choosing substrate for the current build. I want it as white as I can but have been warned off crushed marble by several people as it apparently gets very fine and 'dusty' in the tank, quite quickly.

Any suggestions and especially pics would be great.

 

[RobbieMVFC]

I saw a trick somewhere that if you take some vinegar wherever you purchase the sand from.
The idea is to ensure you buy crushed coral sand .
What you will need is a small container that is full of vinegar add a small amout of the samd and if its real crushed coral it will begin to bubble.otherwise its
Just cheep sand.

 

[IJG3145]

I'm not fussed if it's not coral sand for the new build but that's very handy to know.

 

[MagicJ]

I used crushed marble for 10 years without any issues. I can't remember what grade it was but the grain size was very similar to normal coral sand.

They only reason I'm not still using it is that it had a lot of larger shells mixed in with it (left over from a former plenum system) and I couldn't be bothered trying to sift them all out.

 

[Azfish]

I agree with @MagicJ i used it for years on freshy and salty tanks, size was always 00 or 000 (really fine). That would have to be the whitest sub i've seen.

Most aragonite/crushed coral tends to be an off white .. I did bleach my crushed coral sub for my current tank, it did come out whiter than I expected but still not white white. HTH

 

[IJG3145]

I agree with @MagicJ i used it for years on freshy and salty tanks, size was always 00 or 000 (really fine). That would have to be the whitest sub i've seen.

Most aragonite/crushed coral tends to be an off white .. I did bleach my crushed coral sub for my current tank, it did come out whiter than I expected but still not white white. HTH

My last substrate was coral sand that I double bleached but as you say, it's not really white.

 

[IJG3145]

I used crushed marble for 10 years without any issues. I can't remember what grade it was but the grain size was very similar to normal coral sand.

They only reason I'm not still using it is that it had a lot of larger shells mixed in with it (left over from a former plenum system) and I couldn't be bothered trying to sift them all out.

Did you have much trouble with it blowing around?

 

[MagicJ]

Did you have much trouble with it blowing around?

Not at all.

I have a few things happening over the weekend, but I will try to find some time to clean some up and take a photo.

If you want 'white' then marble would be the way to go.

 

[IJG3145]

Looks like I'll have to travel a couple of hours but Fish & Feather in Kilsyth (Vic) have 2mm & 4mm crushed marble. less than $1 per kg.